The Original Files Bonus Instalment
by Emerald Princess of Vernea
Summary: A bonus instalment of a complete novelisation of Final Fantasy VII. This instalment covers Professor Gast's hidden files. See Instalments 1, 2 and 3 for the rest of the story. Please read and review!
1. Files: The Original Crisis

**Final Fantasy VII: The Story 2nd Instalment**

**Emerald Princess of Vernea**

**Bonus Instalment: THE ORIGINAL CRISIS **

**Chapter One: The Original Crisis**

Professor Gast stood by his machine, checking it over. The video was recording from a single monitor on the ceiling near to the door. The position of the camera was vital—it would give a clear picture of the entire laboratory. It wasn't just a laboratory, though… it was their home.

Ifalna stood to one side, watching as the Shinra professor worked on the machine. Seeing the professor in his smart lab coat and slick black hair made her feel strangely inadequate in her cotton red dress and purple skirt, which was tied around her waist. Her long brown hair fell loosely across her back, moving in gentle waves. She played nervously with the hem of her skirt as she waited for the professor to complete his checks. When he was finally ready he nodded and turned toward her.

"Camera's ready!" the professor said cheerfully. He pushed one final button on the console to begin the recording, and then leaned back casually against the side of the console. "Then, Ifalna, please tell us about the Cetra."

Ifalna nodded. She took a deep breath, swallowed deeply, and then began. "2000 years ago," she said, knowing her voice sounded awkward and unnatural, "our ancestors, the Cetra, heard the cries of the Planet. The first one's to discover the Planet's wound were the Cetra at the Knowlespole."

"Tell us, Ifalna…" Professor Gast interrupted smoothly. "Where is the land called 'Knowlespole'?"

"Knowlespole refers to this area," explained Ifalna. "The Cetra then began a Planet reading."

"Ifalna, what exactly does a Planet-reading entail?"

Ifalna hesitated a moment, and then turned away. She played with the hem of her skirt. "…I can't explain it very well," she said timidly, "but it's like having a conversation with the Planet… It said something fell from the sky, making a large wound." She took a few steps forward, careful not to look directly at the camera or the professor. "Thousands of Cetra pulled together, trying to heal the Planet… But, due to the severity of the wound, it was only able to heal itself over many years."

"Do the Ancients, rather, the Cetra, have special powers to heal the Planet?" asked Professor Gast. He stood up from the console and crossed his arms, looking at Ifalna intently.

There was something different about the way Professor Gast looked at Ifalna. He looked at her with soft affection, his eyes gazing at her face and hair with a caring expression. It was not the look of a scientist interviewing a subject. It was more the look one gives to someone they cared for. Ifalna seemed to realise this and quickly blushed, turning her head away.

"No, it's not that kind of power," she said quickly to cover her embarrassment. "The life force of all living things on this Planet becomes the energy. The Cetra tried desperately to cultivate the land so as to not diminish the needed energy."

"Hmm, even here so close to the North Cave, the snow never melts," said Gast, lowering his head in thought. His scientific mind was working away, piecing together all the information Ifalna was giving him. Already a number of theories were forming in his mind. "Is that because the planet's energy is gathered here to heal its injury?"

Ifalna looked down, and her brown hair fell around her smooth face. "Yes," she replied. "The energy that was needed to heal the Planet withered away all the land… then the Planet… The Planet tried to persuade the Cetra to leave the Knowlespole, but…" She choked and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Ifalna…" said Gast in concern. He watched Ifalna as she struggled to hold back the tears that were welling in her eyes, before he turned and headed toward the console. "Let's take a break here," he suggested. He was about to turn the video recorder off when suddenly Ifalna turned around and shook her head.

"I'm all right…" she said. She rubbed her eyes and brushed down her dress, flicking strands of loose hair from her face before continuing her story. However, she still found the telling difficult. "When the Cetra… were preparing to part with the land they loved…" She turned away. "That's when it appeared! It looked like… our… our dead mothers… and our dead brothers. Showing up spectres of their past."

"Who is the person that appeared at the North Cave?" Gast asked. "I haven't any idea."

"That's when the one who injured the Planet… or the 'crisis from the sky' as we call him, came." Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Ifalna broke down into tears. They flooded down her cheeks as memories passed onto her from the Planet passed through her mind. Images and flashes of the past zipped before her eyes. She could see everything that happened as though it was happening in front of her. What the Cetra of the past could see, she could see. What they felt, she felt.

"He first approached as a friend, deceived them, and finally… …gave them the virus. The Cetra were attacked by the virus and went mad… transforming into monsters." Ifalna fell to her knees as the image passed through her mind. Gast walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She was trembling, but still she went on. "Then, just as he had at Knowlespole… He approached other Cetra clans… …infecting them with… the virus…"

She was shaking terribly now. Gast, unable to watch Ifalna suffer the burden of remembering any longer, shook his head and strolled over to the recording console. "You don't look well," he said, his back to her. "Let's call it a day."

He switched the console off.

* * *

**Emerald:** Just as a note, this bonus instalment file will contain not only the Gast files, but any extra bonus instalments I write in the future. Such as Lucrecia's Cave… and anything else I can't think of right now. Might as well stick the rest in one file as short stories. I may… note the word _may_ end up sticking Up the Pagoda in here… but I like that as a separate one. We'll see. Plenty of time yet. 


	2. Files: What is 'WEAPON?

**Final Fantasy VII: The Story 2nd Instalment**

**Emerald Princess of Vernea**

**Chapter Two: What is 'WEAPON'?**

Ifalna stood awkwardly in the middle of the floor, watching as Professor Gast once more worked away on his computer console. She knew when the recording started—the camera on the ceiling beeped and a small red light began to flash, indicating its activation. The Ancient tried her best to look calm. She was secretly ashamed of the way she broke down during the professor's last recording, and did not want to interrupt the professor's research again.

But, the woman thought silently as she watched the professor make his final checks, at least he was caring about his… subjects. There was one scientist at Shinra who cared nothing for his subjects. Living or dead, sentient or not, they were all just objects to him. Objects for him to manipulate, twist, and experiment on.

Professor Gast was different. He cared about what she had to say and what she was feeling. In fact it was she who insisted on this second recording. She wanted to help the kind professor complete his research. And he wanted her to feel comfortable about helping. That's why he had taken her away from Midgar, to this remote ice village, where they could be at peace.

Finally Gast nodded in satisfaction and turned toward Ifalna. Everything was ready. "Ifalna," the professor began. "Can you comment on the thing called 'Weapon'?"

"Yes, Professor," said Ifalna, hoping her voice sounded formal and authoritative. She clasped her hands together behind her back to hide the signs of her anxiety as the professor looked at her. "The one the Professor mistook for a Cetra… was named Jenova." She glanced up at the camera for a second before turning to face the professor. "That is the 'crisis from the sky'. The Planet knew it had to destroy the 'crisis from the sky'… You see, as long as Jenova exists, the Planet will never be able to fully heal itself."

"Back then, Weapon was a weapon the Planet produced of its own will?" Professor Gast crossed his arms in thought. It was a very intriguing fact.

"Yes, but…" said Ifalna. She hesitated. The anxiety was beginning to rise in her throat, and she tried to swallow it down. "There is no record of Weapon ever being used. A small number of surviving Cetra defeated Jenova, and confined it. The Planet produced Weapon… But it was no longer necessary to use it."

Professor Gast raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So, Weapon no longer exists on this Planet?"

Ifalna shook her head. Thought it was against her will, she began to tremble slightly. "Weapon cannot vanish…" she explained. "It remains asleep somewhere on the Planet. Even though Jenova is confined, it could come back to life at some time… The Planet has not fully healed itself yet. It is still watching Jenova."

Professor Gast watched Ifalna carefully. He could see her trembling… the way her hands shook when she spoke. Her long, silky brown hair quivered around her face. Ifalna was biting her lip. However, she seemed to be all right, so he chose to continue the recording.

"What is Weapon?"

Ifalna lowered her head. Tears were welling in her eyes again. "I don't know…" she admitted. She took a deep breath and spoke. "…I can't hear the voice of the Planet well… Times… have changed. The Planet… is probably watching the situation closely."

Suddenly Ifalna burst into tears. Professor Gast sighed and shook his head. As much as he cared for Ifalna and worried about her well being, he could not help but feel a little disappointed that they could not continue this interview without her bursting into tears at every random moment. What was wrong with her?

"…Thank you, Ifalna," he said, trying to hide the disappointment from his voice. "That will be all for today…"

Off went the console.

* * *

**Emerald:** The next chapter will be the Confidential files. The script I have for the 10th Day record is a little mixed up since it didn't say who was speaking at the time… so I've put it down as best as I could. If I have gotten it wrong at all, please do let me know so I can alter it. 


	3. Files: Confidential

**Final Fantasy VII: The Story 2nd Instalment**

**Emerald Princess of Vernea**

**Chapter Three: Confidential**

**Daughter's Record: 10th Day After Birth**

"What are you doing Profes…… I mean, honey?"

"Oh, I'm thinking of taping it on video," the professor replied absently. "But, the video's not working right…"

Ifalna walked into the room to find Professor Gast standing once more by his computer console. The Shinra scientist was leaning over the console and fiddling with some of the flashing lights. After a while he stood up and scratched his head thoughtfully, a puzzled frown on his normally smiling face.

The Ancient smiled as she watched him. It had been only two years since she and the professor had become lovers… only ten days since the birth of their daughter. Professor Gast never looked happier than he did the day his little girl was born in the village of Icicle Inn—except the day Ifalna had confessed her love for him.

The relationship spelled many changes in their lives. They had left Midgar and settled in Icicle Inn, where Gast recorded his reports and sent them to Shinra HQ back in Midgar. When Gast discovered Ifalna was pregnant with their first child, he stopped sending his periodic reports to Midgar. In fact he stopped contacting Shinra completely, focusing his attention solely on Ifalna and their unborn child. Now that the girl was born, Gast had returned to his console.

"What are you going to tape?" Ifalna asked him, a little disappointed that her husband had returned to work. "Is there still something I haven't mentioned?"

Gast shook his head, not turning to look at her. "No, that's not it," he said. He raised his head and sighed in satisfaction. "I'm going to record my beautiful daughter. And when she's sleeping, her face …looks like an angel."

"First, we have to figure out her name," said Ifalna. "We can take the video later!"

"I've already decided!" announced the professor, turning toward his wife. "If it's a girl, then it'll be Aeris. That's that."

Ifalna put her hands on her hips. "You are SO selfish!" she teased. "But Aeris is a good name!" She crossed her arms in thought for a moment, and then giggled helplessly. "Hee hee… it's a good name, considering it came out of that forgetful head of yours!"

"Right!?" exclaimed Gast, then stopped as he realised what she was giggling at. "Oh, the video tape……"

* * *

** Daughter's Record: 20 Days After Birth**

When Ifalna walked into the laboratory and saw Professor Gast yet again by his console, she could not help but scowl. It had only been a matter of hours since the professor's last recording session, in which he'd sat on the floor with their baby girl, playing with her and boasting about every little feature on her pretty face. Her short, thick brown hair, soft eyes, smooth skin… She was perfect, he kept saying.

"Video again?" Ifalna scolded him. "You just got through taping!"

Knowing he was in trouble, Gast shrunk back away from the console, a guilty look on his face. "……Please don't say it that way," he pleaded. He gestured to the stairs leading into the small lower rooms where their daughter slept. "It's our lovely daughter, both yours… and mine! Don't you want to capture her childhood on videotape?"

Putting her hands firmly on her hips, Ifalna shook her head. Gast's pride over his young daughter would never change. She could already imagine him filming every ounce of her young life. Her first words… her first steps… her first love… all of this he would record without a degree of shame.

"If you keep doting on her like that, she won't grow up to be strong…" she warned her love. She clasped her hands together in silent prayer and closed her eyes. "Aeris is different from the other children. I wonder what dangers await her…?"

Professor Gast turned away from Ifalna and walked across the room. "Never say that!" he snapped, making Ifalna jump. "I will protect you and Aeris no matter what!!" The scientist turned back to his beloved wife. "You and Aeris are my only treasures. I'll never let you go!!"

Love filled Ifalna's heart. Now she knew why she had fallen for the strange and peculiar Shinra scientist. Despite his peculiarities and the way he would often get lost in his explanations of past experiments, his favourite until recently being one involving the creature Ifalna had called 'Jenova'… the professor was a caring man whose sole priority was protecting those that he loved. He made her feel safe and secure… something she had rarely felt during her life as the last surviving Ancient on the Planet. Now she was not the last. There were two. Herself… and Aeris.

"I feel so much better now, darling," the Ancient woman replied. "If I hadn't met you, I…" She started to cry.

She stopped suddenly as a pair of hands touched her shoulders. Looking up, she saw Professor Gast standing before her. Their eyes met. Her green eyes stared, shaking, into Professor Gast's darker eyes. Ifalna threw her arms around him, rejoicing when she felt his strong arms wrap around her. She breathed in his scent—slightly metallic from all his work, but she loved it just the same. It was his scent.

They were interrupted from their embrace by a loud knock at the door. The two parted instantly and turned toward the door, surprised at the interruption.

"Who could that—I was just about to…" Professor Gast looked to his wife. "Damn!!" he cursed, slowly pushing his wife away. "How dare they intrude on our 'private time' together?"

"I'll send them away," said Ifalna. "Yes, at once!! Who the devil?"

Ifalna stormed toward the door, determined to send the people who interrupted her intimate moment with her husband away. When she reached the door and pulled it open, the scowl on her face vanished, turning into one of shock… and fear.

"It's, it's them!!"

Ifalna turned and fled from the door, running to hide behind her husband. The pair watched as two Shinra soldiers stormed into the house, kicking the door almost off its hinges even though Ifalna had left it open in her panic. The soldiers ran down the stairs and stopped at the bottom, drawing their rifles and pointing them at the two. Ifalna screamed and hid behind Gast, who stepped in front to shield her.

A flurry of wind and snow swept through the open door as a third figure entered the house. Gast cursed loudly. Ifalna wailed in despair. The man wore a long white coat over a thin frame, with short hair tied back in a single thin ponytail. His small eyes peered around the room with lack of interest, before settling on Gast and Ifalna. He laughed when he saw the two in the middle of the room, their faces pale with fright.

"Heh, heh, heh……" the man laughed mockingly. His laugh came close to a hysterical screech, as though revelling in victory. "I've been searching for you, Ifalna… or should I say, Cetra!" The man turned his gaze from Ifalna to her husband. "Long time no see, Professor Gast!"

"Hojo…" said Gast, spitting out the name as though it was a reviled curse. He did not move an inch from Ifalna's side. "How did you know?"

Professor Hojo stepped forward, glancing again around the room. He noted the computer consoles and piles of papers scattered about the room… and the tiny toys that told of the presence of a young infant. The start of a smirk touched his thin lips, and he turned to look back at the unsuspecting professor and his wife.

"Believe me, I had to turn over a stone or two to find you," he said. Gast sagged in dismay, cursing himself for not being more careful. Hojo turned away. "Two years I waited… That's how much I wanted this new sample…… Ha, ha, ha."

Ifalna suddenly gave a horrified cry before bursting into a sea of tears. Professor Gast put his hand on her shoulder and stared at Hojo in bafflement. Then the image of an innocent baby girl sleeping soundly in her crib flashed through his mind. The professor jumped back, startled, and shook his head.

"…New sample? You don't mean Aeris!?"

"Hmm, Aeris? What a nice name……" said Hojo. He laughed. "Ha, ha, ha."

Professor Gast stared, wondering if the younger scientist was truly serious in his intent to use his own daughter for his own research. Then Gast remembered the scientist's own son, the product of another experiment between him and Dr. Crescent, now a young member of Shinra's elite mercenary force, SOLDIER.

Anger swelled within Professor Gast. Not now. Not ever would Hojo take Ifalna and Aeris from him. Not while he lived. "That's it!" the professor snapped, standing firmly in front of Ifalna. "I'm severing all ties with the Shinra. Hojo, please leave."

The professor made to step forward and vehemently throw the impudent scientist out of his house, when Ifalna ran out from behind him and stood between him and Hojo. The tears had stopped flowing from Ifalna's face, replaced by the sorrowful resolution of the sacrifice she knew she must make. Before Gast could stop her, she knelt on her knees before Hojo and looked up at him through pleading green eyes.

"Please," the Ancient begged him, and grabbed onto Hojo's white lab coat, "Aeris has nothing to do with it! All you want is me, right?"

"Ifalna!" cried Gast. But Ifalna would not listen. She continued to hold onto Hojo's lab coat, gazing up at him intently. She didn't mind being Hojo's lab rat… so long as Aeris continued to remain safe from Shinra's clutch.

Hojo looked down at Ifalna with a look on his face that could almost be described as sympathy. Almost. That expression vanished instantly as hunger and the knowledge that he had the upper hand dominated the situation. He stepped back from Ifalna, who cried and let her hands fall to the floor in defeat.

"I need all of you for my experiment," the man replied simply, and turned to Gast. "You understand don't you, Professor Gast? We can change the future of the Planet!"

Ifalna cried. Professor Gast knelt beside her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. He moved the hair from her face and gently stroked her cheek. "Don't worry, Ifalna," he told her softly. "I'll take care of this!" He stood to face Hojo.

Seeing Professor Gast stand, Hojo sighed heavily. "Please don't put up a fight," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I don't want any harm to come to my precious sample." Glancing around the room, he finally spotted the video camera in the corner of the ceiling. Its red light was flashing. "Mmm? What a funny looking camera?" He clicked his fingers to one of the soldiers. "Guard! Destroy it!"

The soldier complied, running forward and shooting at the camera. The device crackled and fizzled before exploding, shards of metal and sizzling wiring falling to the floor. There would be no recorded evidence of what was about to happen. The soldiers then began to advance on Gast and Ifalna. Gast stood in front of Ifalna, his arms spread to protect her.

"Be careful with her!!" Hojo warned as the soldiers advanced. There was a manic grin on his lean face. "Ha, ha, ha……"

The soldiers drew closer. One of them reached out and made to grab Ifalna from behind Gast. Crying out in rage, Professor Gast grabbed the soldier's arm and pulled him close, punching him hard in the stomach. The soldier grunted loudly, crumpling to the floor and clutching his midsection. His rifle dropped to the floor. Quickly Gast bent down to retrieve it.

Seeing the gun now in Gast's hand, Hojo began to retreat slowly toward the door. "Wh… what are you doing, Professor!?"

Professor Gast held the rifle in his hands. Turning, he grabbed Ifalna by the shoulder and shoved her to one side, toward the stairs and the room where their daughter still slept. "Ifalna!" he shouted as he pushed her. "Take Aeris and run!!" He turned to Hojo, but before he could take aim the other soldier fired his rifle. Professor Gast fell to the floor, blood leaking from a wound in his heart.

Seeing her dear husband lying dead on the floor, Ifalna screamed. "Eyaaaaaah… Darling……!!"

The two soldiers quickly ran forward and grabbed Ifalna by her arms. At first she did not react, her eyes fixated on the sight of her husband lying dead in a growing pool of blood. Then she started to struggle, kicking and screaming hysterically as the soldiers began to drag her from the house. Hojo watched, smiling, as the woman was taken out of the door.

"Oh, and uh…" Hojo began, suddenly remembering. "Don't forget the child!"

Hojo turned to gaze once more on the home of the late Professor Gast. At first he thought it all useless garbage—remnants of Professor Gast's machines before leaving Midgar. Then he spotted the video recorder, its computer left turned on from when the Professor began his recording. Curiously Hojo pressed a button and scanned the files.

"Hmm, a video?" he murmured. He scrolled down. "The Ancients… Weapon!? Heh, heh, heh… a mountain of treasure!"

Hojo laughed excitedly and glanced down at the dead body of the professor in the middle of the floor. The professor's eyes lay open, staring at him through lifeless pupils.

"Thank you Professor… Ha, ha, ha."

* * *

**Emerald:** And that is this bonus instalment done. I wanted to get it done before moving on. You should all be honoured… five chapters of stuff in one week. You don't see that from me very often! I don't know when this file will be updated again… possibly when I get to Lucrecia's Cave. Which will be some time next year. 


End file.
